1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a launcher for projectiles, and particularly to a launcher of multiple less/non-lethal projectiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, national governments, international institutions, and law enforcement agencies have put a greater emphasis on the use of less-lethal and/or non-lethal weaponry (hereinafter the term ‘less-lethal’ will encompass both less-lethal and non-lethal). The purpose of such weapons is not to kill, but to incapacitate, or, in some cases, to deter the subject from further approach. Much of the armament within the less-lethal arsenal is for the purposes of riot control and/or crowd dispersal, i.e., situations that typically involve a small group of security personnel attempting to control and/or disperse a large group of combative antagonists who, even if they are not armed with conventional firearms, can still injure and/or kill the security personnel with objects at hand.
The typical weapons deployed to disperse a crowd, such as a tear gas canister either thrown by hand or launched by a launcher, are problematic. For instance, a tear gas canister, after landing among a group of antagonists, may be picked up by an antagonist and then thrown back at the security personnel. Furthermore, if it is desired to saturate a certain area with tear gas, a group of security personnel must synchronize their aiming and firing in order to effectively target the certain area. Thus, even though there may be many different phenomena which require different security personnel's attention in a riot control situation, a group of them must be focused on this one task.
Therefore, there is a need for a launcher of less-lethal munitions, such as tear gas, which makes it difficult for the antagonists to throw the munitions back at the security personnel, allows the security personnel a greater degree of protection from the antagonists, and provides the security personnel greater freedom of movement and action when responding to the antagonists.